An Alchemist in the Icemark
by BlackRosePoetry
Summary: What if, while heading through the Truth, Edward was placed somewhere beyond? This is the story of what could've been. Edward is now in the Icemark, and under the watch of Thirrin Lindenshield. Oh crap, we're all in trouble.
1. Chapter 1

**Alchemist in the Icemark**

_**Edward…**_

Edward screamed furiously, stretching to reach his younger brother through the Truth's cold iron grip. Lithe little arms full of determined muscle reached for each other as Alphonse slowly began to get deconstructed by some unseen force. It was terrifying to watch these freezing cold arms of inky shadow grip and scratch at his brother's flesh and take his own leg, but Ed wasn't willing to let fear stop him from saving the only family he had left.

"Al! Reach for me!"

The younger Elric brother reached for his elder brother as long as he could before being completely deconstructed. Tears began to gather in Ed's eyes; he finally realized that he wasn't ever going to see his little brother again. It was like losing his mother, only more painful because he knew that this time, it was his fault. If it hadn't been for his stupid idea to try human transmutation, then Al would still be here. They'd still be whole and together and _alive_.

"NO! ALPHONSE!"

On and on Edward went, spiraling into the Truth, soaking up the world's knowledge like a sponge. It was excruciatingly painful. There was simply too much for the eleven year old boy to comprehend. Everything blurred together in a conglomeration of mathematics and art and music and science; multi-colored light representing each and every branch of learning there was.

But finally, Edward emerged from within the Truth, landing on a harsh, cold, unfamiliar surface of rock. People stood all around him, covered in cloaks of all different colors and speaking in a strange accent that was completely foreign to the terrified boy. Suddenly, Edward realized something; Alphonse was nowhere to be found.

"Alphonse? Alphonse! WHERE ARE YOU, DAMMIT!" he screamed.

Agony beyond belief shot up the Ed's left leg and he looked down to find nothing but a bleeding stump. Terror gripped his heart once more. Sobs wracked the boy's thin frame as he looked around at all the strangely shocked people.

"This wasn't supposed to happen. We just wanted to see Momma again," he choked out in a whisper. "This wasn't supposed to happen.

A rush of movement surrounded Edward as the people surrounding him moved forward. Orders of all kinds filled the air. Ladies in strange pants and shirts lifted him up and tied rough bandages around what was left of his leg. Men bustled about, preparing some sort of bed and measuring out peculiar liquids. Everything passed over what seemed like eternity to a struggling Ed.

He didn't need help.

He needed to get his brother back and find a way to make things right with the world.

"Let me go! I don't need your damn help! Let me go so I can get Al back!"

A young lady of about fifteen held Ed's arm tightly, refusing to let go even when he punched her in the eye with his other hand. "What's your name, child? And how did you get here?"

Edward grunted with effort as he tried to kick several others with his remaining leg. "My name is Edward Elric and I have absolutely no damn clue how I got here, so why the hell don't you just let me go and tell me where my brother Alphonse is!"

Eventually, his thrashing and ranting got bad enough to where the adults were forced to strap the weakening boy down to his cot. A burning sting erupted in his mind as they stabbed him with a needle, injecting some sort of painkiller/sedative into his system. It took mere moments for the drug to begin working. Edward began to grow tired. The faces that surrounded him blurred into indistinguishable colors and he started to drift off to sleep.

The last thing Ed heard was a woman's quiet whisper. "Get the Witchfather. We're going to need his help on this one."

_**Thirrin and Oskan…..**_

Discussing battle tactics with Their Vampiric Majesties was an enlightening experience, Thirrin admitted to herself. It was like speaking with an overly-experienced housecarl times a thousand. These two undead monarchs had seen more battles over the centuries than Thirrin Freer Strong-in-the-Arm Lindenshield could ever dream about comprehending. And seeing so much war had honed their fighting styles to a finely-tuned, deadly artistic form of mass-murder.

"Concentrating your troops towards the center and strengthening your left flank will help break their ranks immensely," His Vampiric Majesty explained. "The power of housecarl, werewolf, and Snow Leopard will be enough to make them fall back."

The Vampire Queen chuckled gently. "Dearest, you're forgetting the fact that they have armies that are at least twenty-times larger than our combined ally forces again. That tactic will keep us from breaking, but it won't be enough to allow us to break through."

A slight flush, one that shouldn't have been possible, crossed the king's face and he nodded to his consort in quiet resignation. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and whispered something in his ear that made him smile impishly.

Thirrin made a face. There were downsides to working with the Vampires too. All the lovey-dovey crap was one thing, along with snark, sarcasm, vicious snobbish moments and the fact that if you had an open wound they started to salivate.

"As amusing as watching your _rare_ display of affection is, I believe we should get ba –"

Oskan's sarcastic comment was interrupted by a blood-stained witch suddenly entering the main cavern. Her hair was disheveled and caked with dirt and/or blood. Bruises stained the milky-white color of her skin like ink. All in all, the young woman looked a mess.

Bowing hurriedly, the young lady known as Elisa began to speak rapidly. "Pardon the intrusion Your Majesties, but the healers are in desperate need of your assistance."

The Witchfather frowned. "Why on earth would you need my assistance so badly? I'm sure you are perfectly capable of dealing with almost any situation on your own."

A wide-eyed Elisa shook her head in a frantic manner. "Not this time, Witchfather. This boy we're treating… he just appeared in a flash of light and his left leg's been completely severed by something supernatural. We were barely able to control the bleeding ourselves. We need your expertise on something this severe."

Something flashed in Oskan's obsidian eyes as he stood to his full height and strode over to the girl. "What do you mean he appeared in a flash of light? Wasn't this child a drummer boy or very young soldier from our armies?"

"No, sir," Elisa stuttered awkwardly. "He says his name is Edward Elric; no one by that name has ever crossed into our army records before. He also seems to be having delusions. He keeps asking where his brother Alphonse is, but arrived alone. It's very baffling."

Nodding resignedly to the others, Oskan dashed out of the caverns to track down this mysterious boy and have a look at the injuries he'd sustained. What really interested the warlock, though, was the manner in which Elisa said this child had arrived. A flash of light; there wasn't anyone he knew besides himself that was powerful enough to travel through the worlds. Certainly something that complicated was beyond a child's Abilities. So how in the Goddess's name, he wondered, had this strange little boy arrived on Icemark soil?

Through labyrinthine pathways they went, warlock and witch weaving their way towards the farthest rooms of the hospital. It was a long walk; Oskan had taken it upon himself to build up the Frostmarris Hospital until it was large enough to accomodate as many wounded soldiers as possible in comfortable conditions. Eventually, Elisa lead her superior into the farthest space available, peeking in to make sure that the young boy was still unconscious before signalling that he could enter.

It was so much worse than Oskan had expected.

Blood stained every surface in the room, splattering every beaker, healer, wall and floor. Only the boy's own coating of crimson, sticking to his skin like a wine-spill and making his blond hair clump with filth, made the image worse. Blood-soaked linens created a crude bandage around what appeared to be a still-bleeding stump of a left leg. No war injury had ever come close to being this tragically horrible. This child, Edward if he recalled correctly, was so very small. He claimed to be eleven; in all respects, Oskan was beginning to think that he was lying. His size suggested that he was no more than seven or eight.

Oskan strode to where his apron hung with purpose, quickly grabbing the tools he'd need to work on the severed limb. Grim-faced and determined, the Witchfather nodded to the others, who quickly got into their properly designated positions. Now was not the time to let the horrible sight of this lost child get in the way of what he had to do. "Ladies; Gentleman: let's get to work."

_**About Four Hours Later...**_

Edward Elric was beginning to wake up. He was ascending slowly through the fog of unconsciousness, gradually becoming aware of his surroundings and who was with him. Colors were starting to give way to solid images, and blurred objects were now becoming more defined. Dark gray stone made up every wall, the bleak color being broken only by the deep red divans and midnight chest of drawers. Torches were placed in brackets along the walls at regular intervals to give off some light.

All these elements led little Ed to one conclusion; he was being held by psychos in a cave underground.

Huffing, the young alchemist attempted to sit up, only to gasp at a sudden shooting pain in his leg. White-hot agony lanced up and down his spine, bringing tears to his oddly golden eyes. Looking through the moisture, Edward saw that his leg had been covered in snow-white bandages and the bleeding had apparently been stopped.

_Well, _he thought,_ that's one thing good about this stupid situation. At least I won't bleed to death in a weird place. _

Groaning, the boy flopped back onto his bed, attempting to ignore the burning pain in his leg. A sudden snort brought him shooting right back up though. There, standing in a doorway that he hadn't even noticed, was the creepiest looking man he'd ever seen. He had longish black hair, skin that looked like milk, and the brightest blue eyes Ed had ever seen. What really set his internal alarms off, though, were his eye-teeth; they looked long enough to bite through his thighs without any trouble.

"Ah, good; you're awake," he drawled in that strange accent. "Their Majesties wish to meet you."

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I DON'T HAVE A GODDAMN LEG!" Edward shouted with sarcastic anger.

Not even the child's outburst was enough to make the odd man upset. Without even speaking, he simply strode up to Ed and lifted him without effort. Protesting all the way, he was carried through corridor after corridor, eventually coming to a narrow flight of stairs that led into a starlit night. An autumn chill was beginning to set in, making the boy shiver and unconsciously press closer to whoever was carrying him. It was then that he realized a very startling detail; this man didn't have a heartbeat.

Fear made Edward's heart freeze up in his chest. His protests had already quieted to nothing by the time they reached a big castle. The man was able to open the door with a kick, striding quickly down a large corridor towards two giant oak doors.

"Edward Elric, are you prepared to meet Thirrin Freer Strong-in-the-Arm Lindenshield, Wildcat of the North and Taker of the Hand of Bellorum?"

Wide, terrified eyes stared up at the smirking man. "OF COURSE I'M NOT YOU UNDEAD IDIOT! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO THE HELL THAT IS!"

**_Oh dear! Whatever is Ed to do? If you review me and give me a few pointers, I'll be more than happy to take your suggestions to heart._**

**_With Sincere Regards,_**

**_BlackRosePoetry_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alchemist in the Icemark**

_**Edward…**_

After his most likely disrespectful outburst, the Vampire man carried young Ed into a hall that looked like it had jumped off the pages of one of his children's books. The ceilings were high enough to disappear in deep shadows, only a few vents scattered here and there filtering light through the rafters. Huge ornate windows were set within walls that had to be at least a foot thick, reflecting light from a huge central hearth. Long oak tables lined the huge hall, some charred from a few smaller hearths scattered about.

Edward prayed that the strange man wouldn't head for the large thrones around the central hearth, but alas, his wishes were ignored. Fearfully, the eleven-year-old watched as his "captor" carried him closer to those ominous looking thrones. He could see what seemed to be four adults, but with them was what looked to be a deformed bear and two giant white leopards! If he'd been anyone weaker, or if he hadn't seen what he had while in the Truth, Ed would've fainted at this point. But, this alchemist was made of stronger stuff. Living with Izumi Curtis can do that to you.

The man squeezed him slightly, letting Ed know that he was about to meet people that were obviously very important. Leaning in close, he whispered, "Boy you need to know something; these aren't like people you probably are used to know. Don't speak unless spoken to and be respectful at all times. Otherwise..."

Needless to say, that trail-off led Edward to believe that nothing good would come out of losing his temper with these people. Abruptly turning towards the other side of the hearth, the man placed him in a large chair and bowed low to whoever he was facing. Long strands of his fine black hair had come loose, but other than that, he was a picture-perfect servant.

"Your Majesties, I have brought the child as you requested."

His subserviant tone made Edward wrinkle his nose in distaste; servitude such as this made his hair curl. Turning his liquid-gold eyes, the boy began to observe those seated across from him. Like he'd first thought, there were four adults who appeared to be human. There was a woman with bright auburn hair and deep green eyes sitting next to a man with pale skin, dark eyes, and black hair. Next to them, in all their regal glory, were another man and woman. These two had crowns upon their heads, outlining their icy blue eyes in silver. As human as they seemed to be, though, they were just too perfect to be mortal.

But the giant Snow Leopards and that freaky deformed bear-thing were just too weird to be justified in Edward's alchemist mind. He just sat there, staring at these odd people with awe.

The lady with the red hair spoke first, voice hard and rigid with suspicion. "What is your name boy?"

Shaking his head, Ed tried to clear his mind and gain some of his customary confidence back. Sitting up straighter, he leveled a glare that could melt steel, saying, "My name is Edward Elric."

He paused, slumping back into his original slouched position. "But can somebody please tell me what in the hell's going on here?"

Edward's comment seemed to throw a few of the adults off, save for the too-perfect ones; the auburn-haired just sat and stared at him for a few moments. She was pretty and all, but that piercing green stare was starting to make him uncomfortable. It was like having someone scan your soul without your consent: nerve-wracking, creepy, and downright odd.

"Edward Elric; my name is Thirrin Freer Strong-in-the-Arm Lindenshield, Wildcat of the North, Taker of the Hand of Bellorum, and Queen of the Icemark."

"Thirrin" gestured at the man sitting next to her. "This is my consort, Oskan Witchfather. These people sitting next to me are Their Vampiric Majesties, rulers of the Land-of-the-Ghosts."

The people that he now knew were Vampires nodded in an almost bored manner. Suddenly, that giant bear-thing that Ed had thought was so weird spoke, it's voice deep with a rough accent. "I am Grishmak Blood-drinker the First, King of the Wolf-folk."

Okay; now things were starting to get freakin' screwed up in the head. Everything that his teacher had taught him was now being destroyed right in front of his eyes. Nothing was the same as it was before. Maybe the Leopards talked too...

Just as he began to think that, Edward was met with a surprise that made his eyes start twitching uncontrollably. The biggest Leopard lifted his big head, opened his mouth, and started talking in the deepest, most refined voice that he'd heard so far. "Hello young one; I am Tharaman-Thar of the Snow Leopards. This is my Tharina, Krisafitsa."

No sound could be heard save the fire's crackling as Ed stared from the bear-thing named Grishmak to that freakin' Leopard that talked. Shock made the eleven-year-old's face look like one of those creepy gasp masks that you would find at a Halloween store. His eyes were huge, nearly taking up the entirity of his face. Nothing like this had ever happened before today. In Ed's pristine world, Leopards didn't talk, there weren't such things as "Wolf-folk", and the dead definitely didn't stand up and walk around and talk. Vampires weren't real! This all had to be some sort of screwed up nightmare.

"Man, I must've hit my head on something," he muttered, still staring at Grishmak and Tharaman.

The auburn-haired lady named Thirrin chuckled a little bit before becoming serious once more. "I can assure you, you're perfectly awake and don't have any brain damage. So, how exactly was it that you came to be in my country, what happened to your leg."

Edward shifted uncomfortably under her stare and started toying with the frayed edge of a bandage that wrapped around the entirity of his leg. He didn't even know these people, even if they were royalty. So how could he expect to trust them with the fact that he had committed the greatest taboo known to all alchemists and destroyed his little brother in the process? The answer to that question was simple: he couldn't. Without any proof that they didn't mean to tell anyone about what he'd done, Ed couldn't really trust any of the strange people and creatures that sat on thrones (or the floor in Tharaman's case) in front of him.

Dropping his shaggy blond head low, Edward muttered, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I can't tell you."

Anger began to show within the woman's eyes and she hissed, "Why not? It's not like we're going to arrest you for doing magic at your age; many witches and warlocks cannot control their powers when they're younger."

Staring at the dirty, blood-stained toes of his remaining leg, Ed was struck with an idea. His younger brother could be brought back if he had the right materials. All it would take was a little creative and brilliant alchemy, along with a whole lotta guts. That was something that he had a lot of, thank God; and since he'd seen the Truth and what it contained, he now possessed the knowledge of how to bring Alphonse back. Well, at least partially back anyways.

Looking back up at Thirrin and the others, Edward whispered, "Why don't I show you instead of telling you? Since I'm pretty sure this will work, you and your fellow rulers can observe some real alchemy in action."

Thirrin didn't really like the oddly wicked gleam that had grown in the young boy's eyes. It reminded her of Oskan when he ws incredibly angry. But then again, it could prove beneficial to watch how this young boy had come to arrive in their country. Reluctantly, the Queen of the Icemark nodded slowly. "Alright, Edward Elric. Will you require any special materials to perform this alchemy you speak so fondly of?"

That gleam increased ten-fold. "All I need is a suit of armor, a knife, and open space to work."

* * *

><p>Edward sat on the ground, tapping at the armor Thirrin had supplied with a deep concentration and fingering the sharp blade his left hand. After another moments hesitation, he grinned hugely, looking up at the queen and her friends with happy satisfaction. "This is perfect. Now I'll have to ask you guys to step back a little bit. There might be some alchemic after-shock."<p>

Only Their Vampiric Majesties remained where they were, rolling their eyes at the child before them. Neither undead ruler believed that there really was such thing as "alchemy" like this boy stated. They were just there because Oskan had threatened them with destruction once more. Really, that man needed to learn proper etiquette when dealing with other people. He was just too prone to violence.

It was only when Edward used the blade to slice open his index finger did they begin to watch with actual curiosity. Sure it was a rather morbid curiosity, but interest in anything something to be noted when dealing with a pair of twelve-hundred year old Vampires. They watched as the young boy made a matrix of lines in a circle on the inside of the armor, finally ending with a question-shaped mark cutting straight through the center.

Her Vampiric Majesty was more engaged than her consort was, listening carefully as Edward muttered something almost inaudibly. "Give me back my brother you bastard. I don't care if your Truth or God or whatever the hell else you called yourself. I. Want. My. Brother!"

Without warning, Ed slapped his palms together and pressed them against the suit of armor. White light flooded everyone's vision, blinding them momentarily so that they didn't know what had hit them. Eventually, a loud scream brought everyone out of their stupor, causing the Allied Leaders to stare in panic at where Edward and the armor sat.

Blood was everywhere, and the young boy's right arm had completely disappeared, taken away in that instantaneous moment of light. But it wasn't the only thing that caused each monarch to gaze in wonder. The armor, previously normal and unmoving, was now sitting up, clutching Ed to its chest plate. A strange light had come to life in its empty eye holes and a strange noise erupted from its hollow chest cavity. It almost sounded like. . . .crying.

Then it began to talk. "Brother? Brother, can you hear me? Tell me where we are, Ed, I'm scared."


End file.
